eBay removes 19th-century slavery document listed for sale on website

eBay has launched an investigation into the sale of documents linked to transatlantic slavery on its website after concerns were raised about it profiting from the items.

The bidding website hosted an advertisement from a private seller for an inventory which included an African person being sold in the United States of America in 1827.

The advert read: “Lengthy estate inventory, paper opens up, handwritten.

“Animals – cows, hogs – and other items listed – seed cotton, lumber, barrels, decanters, sifters, pot hooks, &c.” – and then, at the very end of the list, on the second page, underneath a listing for a three-gallon jug, is one for “one Negro Siaba” with the greatest value of anything listed – “$400.”

The retailer withdrew the documents from its website since it was contacted by The Independent, and before they were sold.

Critics deemed the sale of these items unethical and accused platforms that sell them like eBay of profiteering from the atrocity of slavery.

Instead, there are calls for such documents to be placed in museums, or otherwise accessed for free, so their historical significance can be understood without profit.

Speaking to The Independent, cultural historian Patrick Vernon explained the practice is common.

“Wherever you go, people are still doing this stuff: trying to sell plantation records and slave ship records,” he said.

“There is now a public duty for any company that has these records to share them in a way that’s free and accessible to African communities, so we – as descendants – can use this information as well.

“It’s indefensible for these organisations to sell any sort of records connected to our enslavement.

“If this was any other community, that would be seen as outrageous. But when it comes to African communities, it seems to be fair game to make money out of our misery and suffering.”

Many descendants of enslaved African people do not have access to records about slavery and documents regarding their ancestors, nor do they know who they were. He suggested among these groups of descendants, there’s a sense the sale of these kinds of items compounds a pervasive sense of intergenerational trauma.

An eBay spokesperson said: “The item shared with us by The Independent violates eBay policy and we have removed it from our site. We are in the process of removing any similar listings and would like to apologise for any offence caused.

“We take this issue very seriously and will continue to monitor our site closely for these types of listings.”